After the Civil War, President Grant enforced civil rights laws in the South.
As long as Grant was in charge, he made sure Black men could vote, hold office and own property.
In 1877 Grant was termed out. Both political parties shifted from reconstructing a nation to Jim Crowing a minority, which lasted until Tuesday, when Black voters in the South gained great traction. In Georgia there were eight state officers elected. The eight winners were Black women.
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Without Texas, MAGA is not a party that can control the House, Senate and presidency.
The South is no longer a chunk of country where only white men count.
We have a new, influential swing vote, which we call the Latinos.
Trump can barely keep himself upright and tottering toward a bed.
Reality has changed!
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The worst crime against reality may be avarice. Elon Musk hordes billions of dollars for himself while children starve. Our civilization makes Musk possible. We should change that.
Colossal Bioservices and others are using tech genetics to develop more useful war dogs, called "warhounds." These reshaped creatures will experience "augmented reality," perhaps connecting them more closely with the Dao.
I'm uneasy about dragging other species into our ethnic cleansings and genocides.
The War Department already owns more than 2,000 regular K9 dogs.
The new super-dogs have the support of the American Humane Society.
Yes, they do.
Warhounds will have a somewhat android appearance, embedded with communication devices, wearing bulletproof armor and so on.
Bioservices swears that the new dogs will not be fitted out with extra teeth, sharp claws, bombs, blowpipes, grenades, bayonets, bioweapons or poison gas.
Of course, in a war you do what you must to win.
In the past I listened to novelists and artists defend hierarchies in their creative fields. We believe in democracy, but we don't award the Pulitzer prize by asking the general public to take a vote.
It seemed to me that a contradiction existed between "all people are created equal" and the hierarchies we create inside our families, in our churches, at the places we work, etc.
I see now that the ancient Chinese addressed some of this.
Because people are different, the Chinese wrote, there will be hierarchies. Some hierarchies are natural. Talent can rise to the top. The worst hierarchies are those that depend on coercion.
President Trump would disagree, of course. A coward, he has wasted his life trying to coerce reality.
Elizabeth Bennett died recently. A good person. I am noting this for a few people who may have lost track over the years.
For breakfast I had an open-faced, peanut butter sandwich, three prunes and a glass of milk. I'm too old to get hungry, so for lunch I ate a black-and-white cookie and drank tea. In the evening I dined on See's candy and drank more tea. And I feel great.
I don't recommend this approach to eating for other people. I'm a few weeks short of 92. I attribute my longevity to luck, which is unlikely to last.
I smoked until I was 80, and by then I was really tired of smoking and stopped. It was easy.
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The $90 Understanding
Early in the week I discovered that someone had added $90 to my checking account. I didn't know why that had happened, but I felt good about it.
Then today I read in a Philadelphia newspaper that the money had come from Donald Trump! He had sent it to me as a rebate because I pay for Medicare.
Yes, Trump set out to buy my vote, using taxpayer money, my own money really. But you have to be impressed by how he got the price right. I would not support Trump for, say, $35. But $90 buys lunch for two in a good Mexican restaurant.
If Trump's name appears on my unopened California ballot, I will definitely vote for him. Fair is fair. For the other offices, I plan to support the Democratic ticket, so far.
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President Trump recently told us that it was okay for Iran to attack America. I think his point was that he wanted Iran to teach us a lesson.
"Let them take out San Diego," he said on television. I suppose a nuclear attack would include sinking the 50 ships of the Pacific Fleet stationed in San Diego harbor.
I disagree with Trump. East of San Diego sits the town of Julian. I do not want the town nuked.
Julian is more than 4,000 feet up in the mountains, where it is cold enough to grow apples. The town is small, fewer than 2,000 people, but it's the place to go if you want a nice drive and some fresh apple pie. The town is mostly locals baking apple pies, and the pie is really good. Or it was when I visited 60 years ago.
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